Published: Monday, July 7, 2014 at 11:00 p.m.

Last Modified: Monday, July 7, 2014 at 11:15 p.m.

Rumor has it that the Tuscaloosa County Board of Education doesn't really care about Holt High School.

That's what board member Schmitt Moore, whose district includes Holt, told the rest of the school board at Monday's meeting.

It's a rumor that needs to be addressed, he said.

Superintendent Elizabeth Swinford said the rumor couldn't be further from the truth.

“I agree that morale is low, and we're building on that to make sure people feel comfortable, but what we're doing inside (the school) is just amazing,” Swinford said.

Holt High is the oldest school in the Tuscaloosa County School System. It was rebuilt in 1941 after the original school was destroyed in a fire.

Holt residents have been campaigning for a new Holt High for years and have recently renewed their efforts.

In the year that Swinford's been superintendent, she's placed a new principal at the school and started expanding its career and technology class offerings. She's also held numerous community meetings with Holt residents and assured them that Holt High is her No. 1 priority.

Some Holt residents claim the board is ignoring their community because it has not approved building a new Holt High.

“I think the community wants to know that this board is committed to doing something about Holt High School,” Moore said. ...“I know you said to me that we all are committed, but I think the community needs to know that. Although the process is somewhat slow, it takes time, I know that.”

Board President Mark Nelson said the county school system has many needs but that improving Holt High is still the board's No. 1 priority.

“I think that we may be limited in what we can do facility-wise until some things happen with the money, but I'm excited to know about the learning changes because that's what matters,” Nelson said. “I don't think there's any change in priority for this board, but I understand your frustration from the standpoint of seeing something happen. In due time.”

Board member Joe Boteler, a longtime advocate for a new Holt High, said he understands the Holt community's frustration and knows why it has continued to fight for a new school. The community has just been passed over too many times, he said.

“I've always said I'd rather have a good teacher under a tree than a new school, but those people at Holt feel like they are being mistreated,” Boteler said. “They feel like we do not care. When you get to that point, it is hard to overcome.

“When we see other schools with their graduation rates improving and they have better facilities, and the kids from Holt go to those facilities to play ball or to attend meetings, they see what other people have and then go back to their school. It's disheartening. The new school, in my mind, is needed more for morale than anything else.”

Swinford said people need to understand that they do care about Holt and are moving forward with their plans to improve the school. She said when she meets people from Holt she tells them that they haven't built a new school for Holt yet because they're saving the best for last.

“We're going to do some innovative things when we move to Holt that we have not done at the rest of the schools,” Swinford said.

“I was not the leader when the plans were developed for the other schools, but for Holt, I'm looking at a lot of things that are innovative in nature. Programs inside that will set the foundation, and they'll have to be very specific when we build the building to make sure they match what we're putting there.”

Moore suggested that they be more transparent about what their specific plans are for Holt High. He said if people have a clear idea about what they're implementing at the school, maybe that would negate some of the hopelessness Holt residents feel.

“If I go back and say that we're not doing anything, it's going to hurt the image,” Moore said. “It's a slow process, but we need to know the truth, state the truth and we need to keep pushing forward. We cannot stop. We cannot slow down.

“It's past time for something to happen. We can't do anything about the past, but we can make sure that we do something in the future.“

Boteler asked Swinford why can't she ask the Tuscaloosa County Commission to fund a new Holt High as a stand-alone project instead of asking it to fund it as part of a long list of other needs.

Swinford said when she goes to the commission she wants to address all of the system's needs, not just one. She said Holt High is a very important piece of the plan, but that it's not the only part of the strategic plan.

County Commissioner Jerry Tingle said the commission supports a new Holt High but that it is waiting on a plan from the school system.

“They're supposed to have the plan by the end of the summer is what they told us,” Tingle said. “We're waiting on them. Holt is right on top of the priority list as far as the county commission is concerned.

“The biggest problem is if they don't hurry up and put together a plan we can look at, we swing into 2015 and then we'd be in a time crunch to pass anything. We want to see what they are proposing in a prioritized way.”

Swinford said after the meeting that she's not going to argue with Holt residents about how they feel.

How they feel is valid, she said, but she said she is trying to make Holt one of the best schools in the state and in the nation. And that takes more than a new building.

“The brick and mortar — the building — is important to Holt as a community because we've built new schools for everyone else,” she said. “And I understand that, and will never argue the feeling that they have relative to a building.

“But the good part is we've done so much with the students that we're going to really target those graduation rates and more kids will graduate from that beautiful building instead of just dropping out from a beautiful building. ...When we put that building there it will just be the last step with gravy on top.”

<p>Rumor has it that the Tuscaloosa County Board of Education doesn't really care about Holt High School.</p><p>That's what board member Schmitt Moore, whose district includes Holt, told the rest of the school board at Monday's meeting.</p><p>It's a rumor that needs to be addressed, he said.</p><p>Superintendent Elizabeth Swinford said the rumor couldn't be further from the truth.</p><p>“I agree that morale is low, and we're building on that to make sure people feel comfortable, but what we're doing inside (the school) is just amazing,” Swinford said.</p><p>Holt High is the oldest school in the Tuscaloosa County School System. It was rebuilt in 1941 after the original school was destroyed in a fire.</p><p>Holt residents have been campaigning for a new Holt High for years and have recently renewed their efforts.</p><p>In the year that Swinford's been superintendent, she's placed a new principal at the school and started expanding its career and technology class offerings. She's also held numerous community meetings with Holt residents and assured them that Holt High is her No. 1 priority.</p><p>Some Holt residents claim the board is ignoring their community because it has not approved building a new Holt High.</p><p>“I think the community wants to know that this board is committed to doing something about Holt High School,” Moore said. ...“I know you said to me that we all are committed, but I think the community needs to know that. Although the process is somewhat slow, it takes time, I know that.”</p><p>Board President Mark Nelson said the county school system has many needs but that improving Holt High is still the board's No. 1 priority.</p><p>“I think that we may be limited in what we can do facility-wise until some things happen with the money, but I'm excited to know about the learning changes because that's what matters,” Nelson said. “I don't think there's any change in priority for this board, but I understand your frustration from the standpoint of seeing something happen. In due time.”</p><p>Board member Joe Boteler, a longtime advocate for a new Holt High, said he understands the Holt community's frustration and knows why it has continued to fight for a new school. The community has just been passed over too many times, he said.</p><p>“I've always said I'd rather have a good teacher under a tree than a new school, but those people at Holt feel like they are being mistreated,” Boteler said. “They feel like we do not care. When you get to that point, it is hard to overcome.</p><p>“When we see other schools with their graduation rates improving and they have better facilities, and the kids from Holt go to those facilities to play ball or to attend meetings, they see what other people have and then go back to their school. It's disheartening. The new school, in my mind, is needed more for morale than anything else.”</p><p>Swinford said people need to understand that they do care about Holt and are moving forward with their plans to improve the school. She said when she meets people from Holt she tells them that they haven't built a new school for Holt yet because they're saving the best for last.</p><p>“We're going to do some innovative things when we move to Holt that we have not done at the rest of the schools,” Swinford said.</p><p>“I was not the leader when the plans were developed for the other schools, but for Holt, I'm looking at a lot of things that are innovative in nature. Programs inside that will set the foundation, and they'll have to be very specific when we build the building to make sure they match what we're putting there.”</p><p>Moore suggested that they be more transparent about what their specific plans are for Holt High. He said if people have a clear idea about what they're implementing at the school, maybe that would negate some of the hopelessness Holt residents feel.</p><p>“If I go back and say that we're not doing anything, it's going to hurt the image,” Moore said. “It's a slow process, but we need to know the truth, state the truth and we need to keep pushing forward. We cannot stop. We cannot slow down.</p><p>“It's past time for something to happen. We can't do anything about the past, but we can make sure that we do something in the future.“</p><p>Boteler asked Swinford why can't she ask the Tuscaloosa County Commission to fund a new Holt High as a stand-alone project instead of asking it to fund it as part of a long list of other needs.</p><p>Swinford said when she goes to the commission she wants to address all of the system's needs, not just one. She said Holt High is a very important piece of the plan, but that it's not the only part of the strategic plan.</p><p>County Commissioner Jerry Tingle said the commission supports a new Holt High but that it is waiting on a plan from the school system.</p><p>“They're supposed to have the plan by the end of the summer is what they told us,” Tingle said. “We're waiting on them. Holt is right on top of the priority list as far as the county commission is concerned.</p><p>“The biggest problem is if they don't hurry up and put together a plan we can look at, we swing into 2015 and then we'd be in a time crunch to pass anything. We want to see what they are proposing in a prioritized way.”</p><p>Swinford said after the meeting that she's not going to argue with Holt residents about how they feel.</p><p>How they feel is valid, she said, but she said she is trying to make Holt one of the best schools in the state and in the nation. And that takes more than a new building.</p><p>“The brick and mortar — the building — is important to Holt as a community because we've built new schools for everyone else,” she said. “And I understand that, and will never argue the feeling that they have relative to a building.</p><p>“But the good part is we've done so much with the students that we're going to really target those graduation rates and more kids will graduate from that beautiful building instead of just dropping out from a beautiful building. ...When we put that building there it will just be the last step with gravy on top.” </p><p><i>Reach Jamon Smith at jamon.smith@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0204.</i></p>